I recently started as a Veterinary Assistant at a local hospital and have been there about a month. Yesterday we had to 2 back to back euthanasias. The animal for the first appointment was not presented for euthanasia until the owner stated that she would not be able to afford the proper treatment, and the prognosis was that without treatment he would suffer and pass away anyways. The second appointment was a walk in for a geriatric pet(16 year old golden retriever) and after discussing options for them to get a little more time with her, it came down to quality of life and the family opted to euthanize. My question is not whether this will get easier, because I don't want it to get easier, I don't want to be "ok" with euthanasia. I want to know how people working in the same environment cope with this fact of the job? What techniques do you use or recommend to control yourself before, during, and after it is done? I am a very empathetic person and I couldn't help but cry as I held the pet on the table. I don't want to upset families that may find this showing of emotion inappropriate, because lets face it the pet wasn't a part of my life but for a few moments. I never shared the happy moments these families had so I am sure some families may feel that how dare I share in their pain. I know some families will appreciate it, and some wont, so how can I help myself in these scenarios?
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